I never imagined just how beautiful ice can be until I visited the Gaylord Texan last month in Grapevine, Texas. As part of the Family Travel Conference I was able to tour some amazing hot spots in Grapevine and one of my favorites was ICE Featuring DreamWorks Merry Madagascar. This was an amazing experience from start to finish and Aubrey and I had a blast. ICE! is created by a very talented group of artisans that travel half-way around the world to create this amazing ice show. The whole process from making the ice to carving it takes several months and includes over two-million pounds of ice.
Before you enter the ICE area where all of the sculptures are at you will be given a calf-length, hooded winter coat which is available for all members of your family, even the little ones. I highly recommend that you wear a pair of gloves because with temperatures at 9 degrees, your fingers will be freezing if not covered, trust me I didn’t wear gloves! The walk through of the ice sculptures is at your own pace. You can stop and take pictures or just walk through. It took us about 30 minutes to go through but we stopped and had some fun on the ice slides before exiting.
The sculptures are amazing and unlike anything I have ever seen. They aren’t just your normal ice sculptures because they incorporate bright colors and lights to make these characters come to life. Even now as I write this I am amazed at how realistic these sculptures look, they are incredibly talented. From the beginning of the walk-through till then end you will be told the story of how Alex the Lion and his friends helped save Christmas after Santa and his reindeer crashed his sleigh onto the island of Madagascar.
After you exit Ice for an extra fee you have the opportunity to go Snow tubing. I highly recommend you take advantage of the tubing, it is so much fun for all members of your family. They have single tubes or if you have little ones you can double up and ride together. Overall ICE! is an amazing experience and something you definitely want to check out when your in Grapevine. ICE! Merry Madagascar will run from now through January 1st, 2013. For more information on hours and ticket prices visit http://www.gaylordhotels.com/gaylord-texan/lone-star-christmas/ice-experience/index.html.
*We were provided complimentary admission as part of the Family Travel Conference.